Irish actor Andrew Scott returns as Moriarty in the second series of BBC One’s Sherlock next month, following his debut as the arch-villain in Series 1’s The Great Game.

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson, Series 2 will feature new three 90-minute episodes.

A Scandal in Belgravia airs at 8.10pm on Sunday 1st January 2012.

> Pre-order the Series 2 DVD on Amazon.

CultBox caught up with Andrew to discuss Sherlock‘s new series, asking questions sent in by fans on Twitter…

@Kirstie_nash asks: Did you have fun filming Series 2?

“It went really well, thank you. I’m very excited about it; I think it’s going to be even better than the first series. I’m in all three episodes in some form. The scripts are really amazing and I had a great time, we’re doing Reichenbach and some really interesting Moriarty stuff.

“I was doing a play at the same time so that was the only thing that was a little bit weird, because I was playing a Roman emperor so had to balance the two parts, one in London and one in Cardiff.”

@cosmostrekker asks: How did you come about creating and deciding the pitch changes in Moriarty’s voice?

“It’s not something that I was too aware of. I think something comes out, people think things are massively deliberate when they’re not. I did want people to feel unsettled when we first see Moriarty, I think that’s terribly important, the fact that he’d have a sound that is not something people would associate with a villain.

“So it throws people off the scent slightly and, in a weird way, is not human. It’s something that can disguise his true voice and just make it a little more playful. I didn’t think ‘oh, I’ll make his voice really weird’, I did it a lot of different ways.”

@panopticaa asks: How are we going to see the Sherlock/Moriarty dynamic develop in Series 2?

“We’re doing our version of Reichenbach which obviously is a big Sherlock/Moriarty thing, so the relationship develops in the sense that you see more of them together and you see the battle continue. It’s hard to talk about without giving anything away!

“You get the same sort of dynamic that we hinted at in Series 1. I had a great time with Benedict [Cumberbatch] this time, we had some very funny scripts and very scary stuff and great character stuff, so I was really pleased with that.”

@nightfurym asks: What has been the biggest challenge so far?

“I think the biggest challenge is to try and keep it my own version of the character. I think what sometimes you see on television is variations or derivations, so it’s important to me that he’s an original character. I tried to draw from myself and sort of avoided any other villains to try not to copy.”

@jessiii94 asks: What are the cast like to work with?

“I worked with Martin [Freeman] who I think is absolutely brilliant in the part and he’s a fantastically nice person. We have a little bit to do in Series 2.

“Obviously I’m with Mr Cumberbatch, who continues to be the best Sherlock you could imagine. Katherine Parkinson makes an appearance, she’s a brilliant actress.”

@RiannaLauren asks: How did you feel about the ending of the pool scene in The Great Game?

“It was quite good actually, when people kept asking me ‘how do you get out of [the cliff-hanger]?’ I was able to say with absolutely honesty ‘I have no idea!’”

@Cobbledstories asks: You’ve gained a lot of enthusiastic new fans ever since Sherlock. How do you feel about this?

“I don’t know if it’s because I’m Irish but I’ve got a weird habit of smiling at people in the street anyway, so now that’s a little bit weirder with people wondering ‘who’s smiling at who here?’, but people have been fantastic.”

@gailmduggan asks: Do you find it amusing that people are scared of you?

“I’m quite different to Moriarty, I’m only ever scary in real life if people push your friends out the way and shove a piece of paper in your face and say ‘sign this’. Then I become scary! But for the most part, people are really nice so I don’t need to reveal my dark side.”

@emmimati asks: Do you have a favourite Sherlock Holmes book?

“I don’t really. Of course, the one that I respond to a little bit is Reichenbach, because it was the first one I read for in relation to Moriarty. I actually try not to go back to them. I read a couple of them for Series 1 but I didn’t read any this time.

“I think you don’t need to have read the books to enjoy Sherlock, so I just enjoy it without having too much back-story, because that’s how a great percentage of our audience are going to be.”

@HS_pinkproblem asks: How do you get in the right mood before your performance?

“I just learn the lines really, really well so that I can be playful on set. I don’t prepare anything too much apart from the lines, then I wait to see what happens on set with Benedict. I think it’s very important that it’s very live and human.

“Even though he’s a very extraordinary human, I think if it’s too overly considered then it becomes a bit boring and clichéd old villain stuff. I tried to be as prepared to be unprepared as possible and then just let them choose from whatever takes come out!”

> Read the first part of our exclusive interview.

Are you looking forward to Series 2? Let us know below…

> Buy the Series 1 DVD on Amazon.

> Pre-order the Series 2 DVD on Amazon.

Watch the Series 1 trailer…